Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1887-12-23
God and man in one, is He.
Harry'S santa Claus" Expert
ence.

1
Tom McGinnis's house, and be hat
some company He was big boy
and something like g cousin Of Tom g
Would you believe it, that fellow sait
there wasn't any Santa Claus? | wal
ashamed for him, aud | told him a
once that be could never have any
little Ratchet.
If there is Santa Clans-and o
course there is-how could he get ~
ON the top of the house, so he could
come down the chimney, nnless ha
carried big ladder with him; and Ii
be did this, how could he carry pres
ents enough to fll mornahundred
stockings? And then how could he
help getting the things all over SCOT
from the chimney, and how does be
manage when the chimney is all full
of smoke and fire. as it always is at
Christmas? But then, as the preacher
says, be may be supernatural-I had
to look that word up in the dictione
ry.
The story Tom McGinnis's cousin
told kept on worrying me, and finally
l began to thihkt,how perfectly awful
it would be if there was any truth in.
How the children would feel There's
going to be no end of children at our
house this Christmas, and Aunt Eli
"a and her two small boys are here
already. ! heard mother and Aunt
Eliza talking about Christmas the
other day and they agreed that all the
children should sleep on cot bedsteads
in the back parlor, so that they could
open their stockings together, and
mother said, You know, Eliza,
there's a big fireplace in that room.
and the children hang their stockings
around the chimney"
Now 1 know 1 did wrong, bpt it
was only because | did not want the
children to be disappointed We
should always do to others aud SO on,
and know 1 should haye been CRATE
ful if any body had tried 20 get up a
Santa Claus for me in case of the
real one being out of repair. Neither
do l blame mother, though if she had
Mt spoken about the fireplace in the
wey she did, if it would never have
happened. But / do think that they
ought to have made little allo vance
for me, since | was only trying to
help; the Christmas business sue
cesstul.
1t all happened yesterday. Tom
McGinness bad come to see me, and
all the folks had gone out ride except
Amt Eliza's little boy Harry. We
We're talking about Christmas. and l
was telling Tom how all the children
were to sleep in the back parlor, and
how there was chimney there that
was just the thing for Santa Claus.
We went and locked at the chimney,
and then | said to Tom what fuu it
would be to dress up and come down
the, e,chimney and pretend to be Santa
Cla ps' and how it would amuse the
children, and how pleased the grown
up folks would be, for they are always
wanting US to amcse them.
Tom agreed with me that it would
be splendid fun, and said we ought to
practice coming down the chimney,
so that we could do it easily on Christ
mas-eve. He said be thought | ought
10 do it, becasuse it was cur house
but l said no, be was u visitor, and il
would be mean and selfish in ne tc
deprive him of any pleasure But
| Tom wouldn't do it. He said ht
wasn't feeling very well, and that be
didn't like to take liberties with our
chimney, ard besides he was atralc
that he was so big that be wouldn't Fl
the chimney. Then we thouaht O
Harry and agreed that he was jnss the
right size Ofcourse Harry said he'G
do it when we asked him, for he isn't
afraid of anything, and is so proud
to be allowed to play with
Tom and me that he would do any.
thing we asked him to do.
Well, Harry took off his coat ant
shoes, and we all went up to the ROOT
and Tom and | boosted Harry till h
got on top of the chimney and pu
his legs in it and elid down. HI
went down like fash, for he didn'l
know enough to brace himself tht
way the chimney sweeps do. Ton
and / we buried down to the bacl
parlor to meet him; but be had no
arrived yet, though the fireplace wa'
full of ashes and SCOT.
We supposed he had stopped on tn
way to rest; but after while W
thought we heard q noise, like come
body calling. that was a great way
off We went up on the roof, think
ing Harry might have climbed bacl
up the chimney, but be wasn't there
When we got TO the top of the chin
ney we could hear him plain enough
He was crying and yelling for hell
: for Re was stuck about halfway dow
/ the chimney, and couldn't get eithe
up or down.
We talked it over for some time
and decided that the besy thing to d
was to get rope and let it down t
him, and pull him cut. So | got th
.clothes-iine and let it down, but Ha
!. ry's arms were jammed close to hi
sides, 80 he couldn't get hold of i
Tom ssid we ought to make a sliI
pernoose, catch it over Harry's hea'
and pull him out that way, but
knew that Harry wasn't very stron
apd was afraid if we did th at /
might come apart.
;. Then l proposed that we shoul
= get long pole and push Harry dow
the rest of tho chlmnev hut aft,